Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Insight Inv LLC

Insight Inv LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $128.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.72. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $81.96 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a market cap of $207.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.